Thousand Suns
by MajinBakaHentai
Summary: The life and times of an insane Bhaalspawn, as seen by her team mates. Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

This is what happenes when I start contemplating how my own non-fandom characters would cope if thrown into a fandom setting. This time around I partly blame this on using Sims screencaps for portraits while playing BG2.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Baldur's Gate_. The city and neighbouring countries belong to Wizards of the Coast, and the game belongs to Bioware. I do own Oraania and am quite willing to dump her in Faern when it suits me.

Also, any music quoted, I don't own either. I do consider the band my favourite though.

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><p>Sometimes Anomen Delryn wondered how he had failed to see anything unusual in Oraania of Candlekeep when he first met her.<p>

The Bhaalspawn was probably the sweetest, most innocent person one could ever lay eyes on... at least at first glance. An elf, barely half an inch taller than the wingless Avariel that was a part of their group, Oraania - or Orin as Jaheira usually called her - had a pale complection, white blonde hair, and a tiny frame. She was as cute as a button, until she started in on one of her strange bouts of chatter.

Thankfully, she wasn't chattering at the moment, though she was singing one those songs she seemed to love. Anomen did not recognise the songs, wondering if they were something she had learned from Candlekeep's masses of information.

The problem wasn't even her singing - she had a lovely clear voice that would have made her a wonderful bard - it was the words of the songs that bothered him.

"_Gods save us every one, Will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns. For the sins of our hand, The sins of our tongue, The sins of our father, The sins of our young._" The elf girl was again singing what seemed to be her favourite as she through slow movements with her twin swords.

That was another thing different about Oraania. It was not common to see a magic user who had been able to set aside time to learn to weild a weapon more complex than a staff or maybe a dagger. Oraania however carried a pair of Kara-turan blades that she weilded with practiced ease.

Anomen did know that Orin was not an average mage though, she was a sorceress and did not have to do the same rigorous study. He had worked out quite early that this difference was what probably gave her to time to learn her sword skills, but it did not stop him from finding the sight of her, in her mage robes, swords in hand, an odd sight anyway.

"_waiting for the end to come, wishing I had strength to stand, this is not what I had planned, it's out of my control._" Now she had moved onto another favourite, one Jaheira had identified as one of her "happy" songs. Whyever a song about losing control could be considered as _happy_ Anomen would never know, but he had learned to trust Jaheira's information on her charge's behaviour.

"Orin!" Speaking if which, here came Jaheira now, putting a halt to Oraania's singing of disturbing songs. "It's time we got moving again Child."

"Oki-dokie Jae!" The elven girl chirped cheerfully. "You think we'll kill anyone today?" She asked, sounding far to eager about the prospect.

Jaheira sighed, as she usually did at Oraania's apparent fondness for bloodshed. "I expect we will, Child. Nalia may not have told us much about the situation but I hardly think she would have hired us for diplomatic negotiations."

Oraania giggled. "Aggressive diplomacy! Negotiation by the sword! Ring-a ring-a rosy, they all fall down!"

Jaheira frowned slightly at Oraania's comment. "I supose so Child, just don't let it get to you too much."

"_Do you feel cold and lost in desperation, You build up hope but failure's all you've known. Remember all the sadness and frustration, And let it go, Let it go._"

Anomen blinked. That song sounded surprisingly relevent to Jaheira's advice. Oraania was very prone to go into fits of wailing or whimpering to herself after a battle was over. Calm as anything while fighting, but she would fall apart afterwards. It made her apparent enthusiasm for killing odd.

One would think it would be expected of a Bhaalspawn to want to kill - a conclusion Anomen had come to at first - until he had seen her, after a fight with a band of common footpads, virtually crying her heart out.

He has wondered where Oraania's insanity had come from, naturally presuming that it was a result of her adventures on the Sword Coast and her discovery of her Bhaalspawn nature, but Jaheira had revealed that was not so at all.

_"She has always been that way, right from the day Gorion took her in. His letters were frequently full of her antics, and theories as to what caused it. At best guess, it _could_ be the taint that does it, but on the other hand it could just be a natural fault, or even a side effect of her sorcery."_

Anomen figured he would just have to keep a watch on Oraania, for all her cheerful nature, an insane Bhaalspawn was still a foreboding prospect, and given her reactions after battles, it would be far too easy for her to lose her way and start down an evil road.

Maybe that was why Helm had positioned him to be in the Copper Coronet just as she had arrived there. Maybe the The Vigilant One wanted him to keep a watch on her, and keep her from going too far wrong.

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><p><strong>AN:** I hope to write more about Oraania the Bhaalspawn. If and when I do, I'll add it as new chapters here, similar to what I've been doing with _Guardians of Time_(which I need to get back to some time - I hate battle scenes, they always give me writer's block).

Anyone familiar with the Attic (Gamejag) can read this there as well.


	2. Chapter 2

For the first time ever, I have used the word "groundbound" in a fic, and there is nary a Seeker in sight. I guess that with _Guardians of Time_ being more on the Sailor Moon side than the TF side (I blame my lack of knowledge of the Unicron Trilogy), there won't ever be much of a chance of Seekers in my fics.

I don't have stats for Oraania (I cheat, horrendously), but I already established that she's small, so logically speed and dexterity would be more likely than strength.

Lyrics quoted at the end are from _Minutes To Midnight_, the Linkin Park album before _A Thousand Suns_.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Dungeons and Dragons_ or else the traversty of 4E would never have happened. I don't own _Baldur's Gate_ either. I don't own _Hands Held High_.  
>I <em>do<em> own Oraania.

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><p>Of everything she knew so far about Oraania, Aerie had to admit that the Bhaalspawn was fun. Quirky, sometimes outright worrying, but mostly fun.<p>

It was somewhat a novelty to be spending time around another fullblooded elf. Most elves considered something like a circus to be beneath their dignity, and those few who had spent time in the circus Aerie had lived with had treated Aerie with a fair bit of disdain. A wingless Avariel? Even for the groundbound elves, that was a laughable notion. Besides, those who had looked down on her for that reason had not bothered to hear her or Quayle about her time as a slave.

They probably would have looked down on her even more because of it anyway.

But Oraania, well even at her best she was frequently child-like in her behaviour. She treated the world with a child-like sense of wonder and cheerfulness. Right up until she went into battle. _Then_ the Bhaalspawn came out to play.

Aerie, who was quite realistic about her own amount of fighting experience (next to none), saw how Oraania fought and was, quite frankly, amazed and terrified. Oraania was small, even for an elf, but used it to her advantage, moving with speed and agility through enemies, slashing here, casting spells there. Very few enemies could catch the girl when she truly got going, and more often than not those who managed to do so had the aid of _Slow_ or _Haste_ spells. Not that those lasted long either, given that the only member of their group who did not have some sort of magic - arcane or divine - was Yoshimo.

And in the middle of it all Orin still danced a deadly dance of flashing blades and flashing spells.

And she also sang.

Aerie had, a few days prior, heard Anomen comment on Oraania's singing voice, good enough for a bard he had said, but she only sang in a chorus here, a verse there, never a whole song at once, and was far too shy to perform for audiences. Even she had said as much.

_"Noo... No words, no music, not in a crowd. Out here the music sings through me, in front of listening ears, only silence speaks."_

And that was the point with Orin. She was spontaneous, not just in her singing, but in virtually everything. That was what made her fun, that spontaneity and her almost constant cheerfulness.

Aerie prayed nothing would take that away.

_With hands held high into the sky so blue, As the ocean opens up to swallow you._


	3. Chapter 3

This one is short. Located specifically at the point in the De'Arnise Keep quest where the team encounter Nalia's aunt.

Songs quoted are my current favourite, _Waiting For the End to Come_, and _Pts. Of. Athrty_, which is from the _Reanimation_ album (Linkin Park).

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><p><em>"Flying at the speed of light, thoughts were spinning in my head. So many things were left unsaid, it's hard to let you go."<em>

If there was one thing Nalia De'Arnise had to say for this group she had hired, it was that the elven girl, Oraania, could be... a tad annoying.

That was, when Nalia was in a mood to be polite, in her time spent in the underprivileged areas of Athkatla she heard her fair share of less charitable ways of describing people, but she strove to keep herself from using such base ways of thinking.

Of course this was the one time Oraania's strangeness was not so annoying, as her random propensity for singing bits and pieces of songs had thankfully silenced Nalia's aunt long enough for Jaheira to step in, not that Jaheira was all that patient with Lady Delicia Caan, but if anything, Nalia was aware of Jaheira's intolerance for the elite classes. Nalia herself had already been on the harsh side of that attitude.

In truth, Nalia still did not quite understand this odd group. She had quickly picked up that Jaheira was the one issuing the orders, and would have found it hard to believe the druid would have patience for someone like Oraania, but she had witnessed, more than once, the druid deferring to the elven girl's near-incomprehensible opinion on something.

_"You like to think you're never wrong, You have to act like you're someone. You want someone to hurt like you, you want to share what you've been through"_

...

Oh no, that was _really_ going to set Aunt Delicia off!

Nalia just hoped she survived the impending explosion.

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><p><strong>AN:** Hopefully I'll be able to write longer chapters than this, but I wasn't doing too well with Nalia, and even less well with Delicia, which is why it's a no-dialogue chapter too.

I discovered some information online that has inspired me to add in a bit of a crossover element which another well-known fandom (as opposed to a crossover with my own stuff, which only I know). It will involve a bird of unusual size.


	4. Chapter 4

I am diverting a bit in this one, musically. Blame the BOUS's.

**The Usual Denial:** I don't own Baldur's Gate, and I don't own _Liberi Fatali_. Orin is my own insane little sweetheart though.

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><p>What in the name of Silvanas was the silly girl doing now?<p>

_"Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei, Cunae sunt non  
>Excitate vos e somno, liberi fatali, Somnus est non.<em>

For some reason Oraania kept wandering off the path to look at plants. It was an odd song she was singing too, not in Common like she usually sang.

_"Surgite, Invenite..."_

Not that Jaheira was surprised at whatever new strange antic Oraania got up to, after numerous letters over the years from Gorion, and several months Trekking around the Western Heartlands with her, but it did not help Jaheira's patience that she kept falling behind so much.

_"Veni hortum veritatis..."_

She was quite well aware that she was not the most patient person in Faerun, but with Orin, she had needed to develop some measure of patience or the girl would have driven her around the bend. It had helped greatly that Oraania had accepted her straight away as an authority figure - the young elf certainly needed someone to keep her from wandering off.

_"Horti verna veritatis..."_

Imoen, for all her childishness, was quite good at herding her foster-sister when Oraania got distracted. She had even faced down Jaheira a few times, early on, when she had thought Jaheira was pushing Orin too hard.

The thought made Jaheira smile, just for a moment.

_"Ardente veritate, Urite mala mundi."_

Though sometimes when something really got into Oraania's head she would go after it with a will that could be surprising in it's intensity. After being framed for murdering the Iron Throne's leaders in Candlekeep, and the subsequent discovery of doppelgangers working to take over the great library, Oraania had followed Sarevok back to Baldur's Gate and hunted for him with such a grim determination Jaheira wondered if one of those doppelgangers had somehow got past them and replaced their ditzy little Orin. Even Imoen had been worried.

_"Ardente veritate, Incendite tenebras mundi!"_

But this was nothing like that grim warrior, this was just Orin flitting around, fooling with the undergrowth.

_"Valete liberi, Diebus fatalibus."_

Jaheira was already turning back to chivy her on when Oraania suddenly stopped her flitting and stood stock still, staring at something with an intensity that reminded Jaheira of those days back in the Gate she had just been thinking about.

_"Fithos lusec wecos vinosec. Fithos lusec wecos vinosec."_

Orin practically stalked forward as she softly sang the odd words, her low volume not truly detracting from the intent tone of the song. She stood, seemingly looking at nothing more than another clump of grass, until Jaheira was right behind her.

Not that Oraania noticed, and it surprised Jaheira when she suddenly jumped forward and grabbed a totally innocent leafy plant, ripping it out of the ground and crowing like it was a pile of golden coins, or a particularly well-enchanted artifact.

"Child, do you really have to tear apart Nature like that?"

Oraania looked up, surprised, apparently having been unaware Jaheira was there.

"Pretty plants for a pretty birdy, Jae! Maybe she will come be my friend now if I have a pretty plant for her to nibble."

Jaheira sighed. "Whatever Child. If you wish to feed the birds along the way, well it won't disturb nature's balance if a few of them get a quick meal, but now you have your "pretty plant", do you think you can keep up with the rest of us? At this rate we will take a year to reach Athkatla."

"Mmm hmm!" Orin nodded cheerfully. "Pretty Birdy will follow us anyway, she likes us, even if she doesn't trust us yet."

Follow them? Oraania must have been imagining it, or mistaking different birds of the same kind for the one single avian. None of the team had seen anything following them, and with keen eyes like those of Yoshimo and Minsc keeping watch for anything untoward, even a bird on the wing would have been spotted by one or the other.

The thought however that someone could send an animal out to track them... It disturbed Jaheira enough to make her decide she would warn the others to be extra alert.

Now that Orin was not studying the brush so much, they caught up and joined the others quickly enough. It did not stop Jaheira from checking the skies for Oraania's mystery bird.

_"Fithos lusec wecos vinosec. Fithos lusec wecos vinosec."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** It's not imne and I am not gettting money for this. I doubt suing me is worth the bother.  
>Oraania <em>is<em> mine though.

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><p><em>"Breathing from a hole in my lung, I had no one, But faces in front of me,<br>Racing through the void in my head, To find traces of a good luck academy."_

Unlike the day before where she lagged behind in her preoccupation over plants, today Oraania was ahead of the rest of the team by a fair bit, even ahead of Yoshimo, who was their regular vanguard.

_"Wake me up lower the fever, Walking in a straight line.  
>Set me on fire in the evening, Everything will be fine."<em>

Her song, for all that some of the lines were a bit... odd, had a cheerful tune to it at least, which was, all in all, pretty typical of the elven girl.

There had been the occasional wandering off, but she still remained ahead and Jaheira had insisted that Yoshimo keep an eye on her, though he would do that anyway. (He did not wanting to think about the reasons why, he was getting to like Oraania enough for those thoughts to start disturbing him.)

Truth be told, he had heard about Oraania long before he ever met her, the actions of her and her companions were well enough publicised that they had reached Athkatla long before her escape from Irenicus.

(Long before he had done something he had not realised he would eventually begin to regret.)

He honestly had not given much credit to the tales of the insane Bhaalspawn when they said that despite her dark parentage, she was, in truth, a sweet, if rather disconcerting person. Who would believe a Bhaalspawn could be sweet and kind? Who could believe an _insane_ Bhaalspawn could be, especially with the other notable example of Bhaalspawn being Sarevok?

_"Waking up strong in the morning, Walking in a straight line.  
>Lately I'm a desperate believer, But walking in a straight line"<em>

But all those positive tales about Oraania were true. Sure, she was definitely insane, and hints of bloodlust would show through in battle, belying her darker side, but it had to shine through her inherintly good and kind nature. She herself did not like that side of her nature and knew, in her own way, just how dangerous it was.

_"I don't need no time to say, There's no changing yesterday  
>If we keep talking and I keep walking in straight lines."<em>

It pained him, knowing who she really was, and what she was truly like, that he would eventually have to betray her to a... not a man, not any more... who would destroy her for his own purposes.

_"Wake me up lower the fever  
>Walking in a straight line<br>Set me on fire in the evening  
>Everything will be fine<br>Waking up strong in the morning  
>Walking in a straight line<br>Lately I'm a desperate believer  
>But walking in a straight line."<em>

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><p><strong>AN:** No chocobos this time it seems, but hey! I got Yoshimo to make more of an apperance than just random mentions!

Music for this chapter is the fault of my buying the _"Great Australian Songbook Album"_. On it's 21st Century disc is the Silverchair song _Straight Lines_, which I thought made a great travel song for Orin, since they are heading back to Athkatla from De'Arnise Keep. I however don't know which Silverchair album it originates from.

I like Silverchair, I may in the future dig out my copy of _Neon Ballroom_ and see if some of it's songs can be fit in. They'd be suitably disturbing material for Orin's singing habit.


	6. Chapter 6

This one is a bit different, a new character introduced, one a bit different than usual.

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><p>She was alone and in a strange place. Though there were grasslands and woods, mountains and even the occasional swamp, it wasn't the grasslands she knew, frequented by her flock, and her wild kin. It wasn't the mountains that had once protected them from the filth of the Dark City. It wasn't the huge swamp inhabited by the giant snakes.<p>

Most of all, there was no familiar comfortable Nest Shelter with the kind caring humans and the regular visits by their Man, with his almost crest-feather-like head-fluff.

No, here was full of strange lands, strange animals, and Planet Power different from that she knew at home - different enough her necklace of crystal orbs the Man had given the flock were not working for her, leaving her with only the difficult and sometimes painful natural attacks of her kind.

A few days ago she had got lucky however, she had spotted a group of humans that were travelling somewhere. What had really drawn her attention was the small one, who had somehow spotted her, even though she had been staying back in the woods.

The small one had spoken to her, speaking in the same sort of kind tones as the Man did. She sometimes sang, and promised her she would find her some proper greens.

She was still unsure, but maybe this one would be her friend, and one day help her find a way back to her home, with the familiar plains and mountains, the snake swamp, and the warm Nest Shelter with her flock.

She heard a noise ahead - the sound of a battle, not that she had much experience in serious fighting, but the Man did take all fledglings out into the plains to face down monsters and put their abilities to use, and with her being the flock up and coming magic user she had faced more of those training missions than most so she could learn how to use the crystals she currently wore.

She peaked out from behind the underbrush to see the humans she had been following just putting down the last of a group of ruffians. There was one human on the ground that the Flock Mother was checking over.

"Pretty birdy!" It was the Small One who suddenly spoke up. She warked, uncertain how the others - all now turning her way as the Small One walked over to her. "Please?" She asked. "Please help us get him into town? Those bad people hurt him and he has friends who can help!"

She scratched her claws into the turf beneath her feet for a few moments, considering. She was already pretty much sure the Small One would be a good friend, she just wasn't too sure about the rest of Small One's flock.

She quickly glanced around them - most of them were staring at her in surprise, which she was not very surprised at, she had seen absolutely none of her kind, even the weak dumb ones, in this place - but there was a reassuring lack of intent to hurt amongst them... so far at least.

_"Waaark?"_

Small One giggled, pulling out a slightly wilted plant that was reassuringly green-like. "I know it's a bit wilty, but I've had to hold onto it for a couple of days now. When we get into town we can see if the markets have something you like."

Wilty or not, she was grateful for the offering, and truthfully, it was a nice enough plant, almost as good as a Curiel green. _"Wark wark?"_ She asked, hoping the Small One understood enough.

"Okay! Lets get going!" It seemed she did. "With you helping we should get Mister Renfield to his friends real quick!"

The rest of the flock quickly got working and soon the sick man was secured.

And the Small One sang.

_"There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are  
>She said, 'cause He made you perfect, babe<br>So hold your head up, girl and you you'll go far  
>Listen to me when I say <em>

_I'm beautiful in my way  
>'Cause God makes no mistakes<br>I'm on the right track, baby  
>I was born this way."<em>

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><p><strong>AN:** This is turning out even more of a crossover than it was to begin with (and it is a crossover, just a cross with a mythos that _I_ created). My cute chocobo here is, straight up, a FF7 crossover character. I am still using the D&D stats I found as a base guide for most abilities, but things like background... straight crossover. If you want a picture, look up the _Final Fantasy_ wiki, and then look up chocobos on that. Look for the picture for FFX chocobos - they are almost exactly the same as FF7 ones, just rendered in better quality graphics.

I know one usually runs into the Renfield quest the first time one has the player team try to leave Athkatla, but here I have them running into it as they get back from De'Arnise Keep. Simple logic behind it is _how the hell_ do they carry Renfield all the way to the Docks anyway? My answer? Oraania has a chocobo helping - after all, they are big enough to have people ride them similar to riding an ostrich, and are even used in racing in FF7.

Song choice is due to the influence of my current listening. I love Lady Gaga as much as I love Linkin Park.


	7. Chapter 7

This came out quickly, though I ended up rewriting it. Still, even the rewrite was quick. I guess I was just in one of those moods where I could get in and write up a scene.

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><p>"No! No! No! No! NO!"<p>

Minsc stood back, ostensibly studying the large bird that had joined their group that Oraania had claimed was named Chikabi. In reality however, he was listening closely to the ongoing argument between Jaheira and Orin. Most people did not notice how much he and Boo saw and heard, which he sometimes wondered about, since he never hid that he was a ranger - it was a ranger's _job_ to see and hear things!

Oh he knew all the impressions people got of him - big, simple-minded lummox, obsessed with a common hamster. They just didn't see past that (and they didn't see that there was nothing common about Boo) to the alert mind underneath, always on watch for evil to administer his bootprint to.

"If those silly Harpy Harpy Harperrinies feel they have to go chasing after someone who doesn't really know better and has just been stuck with Bad people, then they aught to expect that I'd do something like that!"

"You really think Xzar didn't know better, Orin? Insanity does not automatically preclude an understanding of right and wrong!"

"You think I don't know Xzar? I met him before I even met you!"

"_Two days_ before you met me, Child. That is not very long to get to know a person."

"It's long enough for me!"

The problem started with the man they had rescued from ruffians, Renfield - not that it was his fault. After getting him to the place he said his friends were, they had been heading to find an inn when they were accosted by the mad mage Xzar, demanding they rescue Monatron from the clutches of Renfield's associates, who he claimed were Harpers.

Minsc only vaguely remembered the man, one of a duo that had been with Orin when she first turned up in Nashkel. He had, immediately, sensed the tension between the pair and Khalid and Jaheira, and had divined that there was something questionable about the insane wizard and his bad-tempered halfling friend Monatron.

He had been rather relieved, in fact, when Monatron refused to help with rescuing Dynaheir (oh how he missed her!) causing the group to split, but that split had upset Oraania as she has apparently already become friends with Xzar.

It was because of that friendship Oraania had agreed to go after Montaron. It was unfortunate that at the end of it all the bird that they had assumed was Montaron under a polymorph spell turned out to be an assassin instead.

But Oraania wouldn't stand for that, and it seemed her new feathery friend Chikabi was all too willing to help Orin in her quest, taking at the assassin in a flurry of wings, beak and claws that had blocked her long enough for a strategic spell from Orin to take her down.

Xzar had quickly realised just how much danger he was in and vowed to depart Athkatla that very day.

"You don't understand what it's like, seeing the threads, listening to the world and hearing the very rock speak. You don't know what it's like being the square peg! Xzar understands that! Xzar can see, and hear! And if someone just helped him along, he could find a nice place far away from the meanie Zhents and also away from meanie Harpers!"

Chikabi gave a worried _"Kweh"_, prompting him to stroke the large bird's neck again, softly reassuring her that things would be alright and Oraania got into arguments like this with Jaheira every so often.

Orin was right, she really was a smart bird, nearly as smart as Boo!

"That is all very charitable of you to wish such a thing Orin, but we don't have to time to do it, and now we're likely to have the rest of the Harpers breathing down our necks over this!" Jaheira was starting to sound weary in this and Minsc didn't blame her one bit.

"Well they can breath all they want. If their breath gets too smelly I'll stuff their mouths with parsley!" Orin spun, apparently deciding she had had enough of this discussion and walked over towards Minsc, stepping in to nuzzle at Chickabi's olive feathers. "I'm tired and I still haven't got to the market to find what Chiki likes to eat. Let the Harperrinnies fuss if they want, I want food."

And as much as he could see Jaheira's wisdom concerning her Harper colleagues, Minsc had to agree that it was high time they had some food.

A small squeak from his collar told him Boo agreed too.

_"Oh... When they come for me  
>Come for me<br>I'll be gone."_

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><p><strong>AN:** Okay, so I let Xzar live. There is just something cool about his sound bites in the first game - the wide difference between _"Your voice is like ambrosia."_ and the girly shriek of _"Stop touching me!"_.

Or maybe it's because he was voiced by one of my two favourite voice actors.

Yet again, the song is a Linkin Park one - "_When They Come For Me_" from the _A Thousand Suns_ album.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimation Thingy:** Since I have forgotten this for a few chapters, here it is again - I don't own _Baldur's Gate_ or _Dungeons and Dragons_. I don't own _Final Fantasy VII_ or any of it's compilation either.  
>Oraania however is mine, and the specific character of Chikabi is mine too, even if her species isn't.<p>

* * *

><p>Sometimes Jaheira wondered exactly who won the coin toss over her life. If today was anything to show for it, it was probably Beshaba.<p>

They had gone to investigate one of the tips that cooing fool Bayle's helper brat Brus had given them - a Cowled Wizard hiring mercenaries. Only they had run into trouble before they even got to the council building in the form of an impromptu witch burning - or in this case, a Drow burning.

Jaheira would have been none too troubled to leave the Sharran bitch Viconia to her travails, but just like that situation in the Docks, Oraania had to swoop in and save someone she refused to see the dangerous side of.

Oraania really did have a propensity for befriending anyone and everyone, now matter how down right dangerous they might be. Xzar was a good example - someone she had found kinship in shared insanity with. Viconia another, who had been, by turns, amused by Oraania, and scheming to somehow turn her down the dark path of Shar.

The only thing Jaheira had to be grateful for was that Orin's perennial cheerfulness had prevented Viconia's efforts from being able to take hold.

In spite of the drow woman's attempts to darken Oraania's life, the elven girl still remembered her fondly, and was quite willing to also incur Beshaban wrath on top of potential Harper anger. Thank Silvanas however she had seen enough sense not to let Viconia join their group, though if nothing else, it seemed that was because of Chikabi's supposed input.

On the subject of the bird, where did Orin get shin guards for her?

Then there was the whole situation with Tolgerias, their supposed employer. The man wanted them to agree to the job without knowing what it entailed beforehand. A highly suspicious manner of hiring. Maybe she was not so much in Beshaba's care as she thought, Oraania also saw the questionable nature of Tolgerias' contract and objected, loudly, and with singing too.

They had also found out just how exorbitant magic licences were. Jaheira was still wincing at the dent that made in their funds, but Orin was not all that careful about when she threw around spells and they had two polite warnings from Cowled Wizard response teams already.

It ultimately did not matter that they had refused to take Tolgerias' job, as they had practically run straight into another right outside the building, in the form of a young boy, Delon. It seemed they were going to be doing some more cross-country travel. Time to see if Chikabi minded playing the part of a pack mule.

Of course her thoughts about her luck being more in Tymora's hands were reversed by another couple of run-ins, a chatty gnome apparently selling contraband, Jaheira had put her foot down about getting involved with yet another person, but had lost the resulting fight over the second, a young man offering his spell-casting services, named Kelsey.

It turned out Orin's interest in him had to do with exactly how he did his magic - he was another sorcerer. Thankfully he was quite sane and refreshingly normal, if just as chatty - if not more - than the gnome.

This group was getting a bit too large for Jaheira's liking. There were only so many people one could keep track of, and that didn't include the bird Orin insisted was intelligent (and frankly, the way she jumped in on that Harper assassin seemed rather intelligent, if Jaheira was really honest).

She really hoped she could cope with this rabble, but it could be worse, Orin could have refused to back down about Viconia, or taken a liking to Jansen.

Maybe, despite the occasional flashes of Beshaban influence, she was still mostly one of Tymora's winnings. She could only hope Lady Luck kept the coin of her life out of her sister's hand most of the time.

_"It's a never ending attack  
>Everything's a lie and that's a fact.<br>Life is a lemon and I want my money back!"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Song is "_Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back_" by Meatloaf - "_Bat Out Of Hell II_" album. I was just hoping for a song to fit Jaheira's sour opinion about her life at the moment, but was pleased by the second line of that stanza - consider it the musical attack Orin makes on Tolgerias.

Also, I do actually like Viconia, but Shar is creepy bitch of a goddess. It is just logical that Viconia would try to advance her standing with the Lady of Loss by turning someone with Oraania's potential power. As the logical thinker of the team, I have handed that opinion over to Orin's ever-protective "Flock Mother", Jaheira.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I was very unsure about this one because I have not actually played a lot of Kelsey yet, but decided to dive in anyway.

* * *

><p>"So you're saying she can use this to cast spells?" Kelsey held up a green crystal orb to the sun, trying to see into it's depths as it's avian owner watched him intently. He had never seen a bird quite like Chikabi before, and while she somewhat resembled the ostriches he had once seen in Calishman, it was only superficial. She was a larger and bulkier bird, and definitely intelligent, even if she needed a translator.<p>

"Well, she could back home, but here she is having trouble - it doesn't link to the threads." Oraania cheerily explained. She was having a particularly lucid day today, quite willing too discuss the ins and outs of magic with Kelsey.

"Threads?" Kelsey looked at her curiously.

"Threads, threads everywhere." Orin waved a hand vaguely. "Linking everything and giving everything power. The Mystery Lady weaves her threads around us all and we pull them here and there with our words and make things happen." A quick whisper followed her speech, lighting up her fingers with a small light spell.

Kelsey caught onto one key word, realising her meaning. "The Weave... You can sense the Weave around us."

Oraania nodded. "Bright threads all around, and in between them dark threads that sneak about in the shadows." She absently spun around, singing a snatch of a song. _"This flame that burns inside of me, I__ﾒ__m hearing secret harmonies, it__ﾒ__s a kind of magic."_

Looking at Chikabi's crystal again, Kelsey tried to digest Orin's comments. "So how can anything _not_ be able to connect to the Weave? Surely that's impossible."

"Different worlds, different power. She called her world's power a river of life, giving birth to everything, and accepting it back when it got tired." Orin tried to explain what Chikabi had communicated to her. Kelsey wondered just how Oraania could even understand Chikabi's squarks, but the elven girl had been rather vague when he had asked earlier. "Oh, and don't call me Shirley!" Orin giggled impishly, though Kelsey could only give her a tolerant smile, not quite sure what to make of the apparent joke.

"So she's from a different world than Toril?" That was interesting. "I've heard of Planar travellers, but I am not sure I am willing to dare some of the places I've heard are out there." Though it did answer his question, something from a different world would not necessarily work by Mystra's rules, he thought as he carefully handed the crystal back to Orin.

"She came by accident." Orin said as she started to put the orb back in the necklace Chikabi wore. It was a fascinating piece if work, with clasps for the various crystal balls designed so said items could be easily removed and swapped around. There were several of the clasps, arranged in pairs that were linked with extra chains. All the clasps were occupied with orbs in various colours, including yellow, red, several in blue and purple, and even a singular pair that were black and clear. "She thinks she miscast a spell while The Man had her and some of her flockmates out training."

"The Man?"

"Mmm, hmm." Orin nodded as she rearranged the necklace so Chikabi's feathers were partially covering it. Chikabi gave a soft _"Kweh"_ and started to preen Orin's messy hair. "He gathered her flock, brought them to a warm place to live, and sees that they are cared for well. Not many humans are that good to them."

Kelsey could only give an agreeing "Hmm." He had seen a fair bit of just how uncaring people could be, especially to animals, no matter how intelligent or useful they were.

"Chiki thinks she can find a way to make her sparklies link to the threads, if she gives it enough time." Orin said, absently batting away Chikabi's fussing beak. "Magic calls to magic, though she may have to relearn the spells. The threads won't pull the way the river flowed."

"Hmm... I do have some mental exercises I was taught to control my magic, maybe they will help her find the link to the Weave?" He asked.

"Mmm... Maybe she would..." Orin fiddled with a medallion she always wore - one with a symbol that looked like a jester on it. _"Storm the master marathon I'll fly through, by flash and thunder fire I'll survive, I'll survive, I'll survive... Then I'll defy the laws of nature, and come out alive..."_

Kelsey sighed. It seemed Orin's mostly clear thoughts were vanishing in the usual cloud of music she seemed to live in. As much as she was surprisingly insightful into magic, Oraania of Candlekeep was also something that worried Kelsey. Oh he knew others in this group worried about her because of her rumoured divine heritage, but Kelsey had totally different worries.

What if he went the same way?

That was one reason (amongst many) he talked to her, so he could determine if his own sanity was at risk from his magic. He still was not sure though - Jaheira, who currently seemed to be the one who knew Orin the best (in absence of the Imoen they were gathering money to rescue), could give no definitive insight into it, so it left Kelsey observing and talking to Orin herself.

Still, if not reassuring on the issue of his own sanity, Orin still had amazing insights into magic, and Kelsey would still try to winnow out those lucid moments and uncover those gems of wisdom.

_"I'm going slightly mad, I'm going slightly mad. It finally happened - happened, It finally happened - ooh oh. It finally happened, I'm slightly mad! Oh dear!"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** For anyone who knows FF7, yes, her necklace is a number of paired materia slots, on a chain. Somewhere along the line Cloud has also found both the Black and White materia, which are on Chiki's necklace. As with the other materia however, she won't be able to use them the way they normally work, so no world-destroying Meteor spell, or potentially world-destroying Holy spell.

Also, song quotes: A side effect of recent YouTube viewings that aren't the latest Lady Gaga videos (but may be a small bit to do with her name, and maybe the guitarist on one of her latest singles) has had me listening a bit to Queen again. Specific songs are _It's a Kind of Magic_, _Seven Seas of Rhye_, and _I'm Going Slightly Mad_.  
>The "Don't call me Shirley" joke originates from the plane crash parody movie "<em>Airplane<em>" - also known as "_Flying High_" (that's the name on my DVD at least). How Orin knows it... well it's the same reason she knows all the songs she sings.


	10. Chapter 10

**Obligatory Denial:** No, I know, the only part of this I own is Oraania. If anyone wants to sue me over it, I give fair warning and say that if all you want to do is piss off the whole Fandom by putting some random shmuck in prison, be my guest. I have next to no money for you squeeze out of me anyway.

* * *

><p>Aerie sat on the floor of the empty cottage where the team were camping for the night before heading to the temple ruins north of the village. It was cheaper to camp in Mirella's cottage than stay at the inn, and currently anything that could save gold for them was to be taken advantage of, as long as it did no serious harm.<p>

Besides, it was likely that Mirella would understand their borrowing of the place - at least that was what Minsc, a ranger himself, thought, and neither Jaheira or Anomen had objected to his reasoning.

Aerie was currently concentrating on helping Chikabi groom her feathers. It was a skill taught to Avariel children as soon as they had the most basic motor control of their hands, long before even the most basic flight training began - after all, keeping one's feathers neat was a necessity to steady flight.

It was a skill Aerie had not expected to ever exercise again, but here she was now, helping her best friend's avian companion straighten out her plumage the way she had once helped her Avariel playmates when she was a young child - like her mother had done for her.

Aerie had found she felt something of an affinity with Chikabi, they were both flightless, both a long way from home, trying to find a place in a world they did not know very well, both learning their way in their magic. Never mind the differences between an ex-slave and an accidental planar traveller, or that Chikabi's flightlessness was a natural state for her where Aerie's was not, the similarities were enough to bridge the differences.

"what's this?" Aerie stroked a feather in the leading edge of Chikabi's wing. It was a totally different colour to most of the olive around it, being a far brighter golden yellow.

"Hmm?" Oraania, sitting on Chikabi's other side, carefully checking through her spell components. She may not learn spells the same way, but she still needed components to make her magic work properly. The young elf looked at the odd feather, and glanced up at Chikabi.

Chikabi for her part was also studying the feather in question, looking between it and a spot on her shoulder. Aerie looked over at the shoulder to see a small patch of gold, maybe as big as her palm, was spreading through the downy cover there.

Chikabi burst into an excited flurry of happy-sounding warks, looking between the two elves, and reaching to nip at the spot along the wing. Orin listened to her, wide-eyed.

"She's happy." Orin stated. "She's been worried that it was taking too long to show, worried coming here, to this world had done something to her."

Well, at least Chikabi was happy about it, so it was not a bad thing, but it did not tell Aerie what the bright feathers _were_. "Yes, but what does it _mean_?" Aerie asked.

Chikabi, who had always seemed to understand Common, spoke up with another string of warks and kwehs, looking to Oraania to translate.

"She says it's her true colour. She's... young, and she's growing in her proper colour now."

"She's fledging..." Aerie said, reaching for a term familiar to her. "Or whatever a flightless would call it."

Chikabi chirped.

"Fledging... yes." Orin tilted her head in thought. "Her family are mostly gold - like that." She pointed to the brighter feathers. "But some of the elders are other colours - yellow, blue, green, black. The Man was helping them get gold chicks, because golds can go almost anywhere, even run over deep water."

"Run over deep water? That's... unusual for a bird... or, most birds." She trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed. The comment sounded a bit naive, even to her.

Chikabi chirped in a tone that sounded like she was agreeing, adding a string of something else as well.

"It's not very common, most of her kind are yellows - they can't do tricks like the blues and greens do." Orin explained.

"Aerie absently stroked the spot of gold on Chikabi's wing. "It's nice you have something like that." She said, softly, to Chikabi. "Something that can't be taken away. Not like the I lost the sky..." She bit her lip, not wanting to burden either Oraania or Chikabi too much with her own problems.

Chikabi chirped in a sad, sympathetic tone. She had heard of Aerie's history, and had even seen the scars from where her wings were amputated.

"You'll fly again, maybe not like you did before, but you'll find a new way to do so." Orin spoke with a strange certainty in her voice, as if she could foresee some bright future.

Aerie couldn't stop herself from staring at Orin as she turned back to packing away her components. "I hope you're right." She replied softly, as Orin starting murmuring another song.

_"You could be a black bird On the country street Hiding from the world from a broken wing But you better believe you gonna fly with me." _

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This is a bit of a change - the chapter came first and I was forced to go looking for a song via Google. The song I found to suit the chapter is "_You gonna fly_" by Keith Urban. I went and found the song on YouTube to listen to it before I decided it worked.

I'm not exactly a regular listener to country music - even Australian country (which Keith Urban is) - with the most country-like thing I have recently listened to much being a Lady Gaga song, but this song is not bad.

As for the main story, well it occurred to to me that birds are always preening to keep their feathers neat and the filaments there-of locked together, so Avariel would have to do the same and that could be a bonding experience for both of Orin's closest friends. The whole thing about Chikabi fledging is based on the original D&D stats for chocobos I found, which had a thing on them about chocobos being born a dull colour and being able to chose their adult colour (and also special abilities related to that colour). Since Chiki is a straight crossover however, I can't really do that, but the idea of a dull colouring stuck in my mind, so now it is just that she is young - basically she's in the chocobo equivalent of her late teens, experiencing a growth spurt.


	11. Chapter 11

Anomen grimaced as he looked around. They were finding their way through the ruined temple of the long gone god, Amaunator, that had been taken over by some "Shade Lord". The place was, quite frankly, a mess. It a terrible shame that such a place had been forgetten by newer gods, and while he could charitably accept that it was not Helm's province, a deity such as Lathander could have adopted it and maintained it.

But it was not the mess, or the whole idea that a shadow creature had taken over a sun god's temple that weighed on his mind at the moment, it was worry over Oraania's state of mind that concerned him most.

The elven girl, who he had come to view as his charge, to care for and protect, had been in a state of dispair and tears right from their conversation with Anath. The fate of the werewolf's pack had driven Orin into a state of cold fury, which had not shifted, with her tearing her way through every shadow creature they ran across with a particularly vicious tenacity, red-eyed and tear-streaked the whole time.

He had seen the looks on everyone else faces, they were also worried for her as well. Jaheira seemed to be trying to out do her young charge in an attempt to save her from having to fight so hard. Aerie had a constant expression of worry boardering on outright fear, though it did not stop her from throwing spells, whether they be magic missiles or healing spells. Minsc's oft-times ludicrous warcryies were grimly absent and his rodent companion seemed to be safely in hiding. Yoshimo wore an oddly regretful look on his face. Kelsey watched the elven girl with increasing worry. Even Chikabi was acting worried, and while Anomen had initially had huge doubts as to Orin's claim of the bird's intelligence, he was fast coming to believe she was right. It did help that the bird had found a way to cast fire spells.

Even the halfling they had freed from imprisonment, Mazzy Fentan, looked on Oraania with concern, and while it was a polite concern of a stranger, it was still welcome.

If nothing else, meeting the ghost of the child priestess had lightened Orin's pain, even if only slightly, and though the floor puzzle room had been guarded by some dangerous monsters, something about the statue behind it had made the girl smile for a moment.

Her reaction to the Shadow Dragon however... they had to hold her back from attcking to formidable creature - they were nowhere near prepared to face down a dragon, especially not one with extra powers as this shadow creature. If Orin was so determined to eradicate it, they could return later to do so, when they were stronger.

Facing down the Shade Lord Orin's cold fury returned when the monster expressed it's intentions for Mazzy. The battle was surprisingly short, though mostly due to amazing fury Oraania let loose.

She was now curled up, her arms around her knees, more tears streaming down her face, while both Aerie and Chikabi clung to her, trying their best to sooth her.

Anomen could no longer claim Moria as the only person he worried for this deeply. Oraania was now his second sister - not in blood, but at heart - and by Helm's might and grace he would do everything to protect her.

He still feared he would lose her.

_I'm going under (going under),  
>Drowning in you (drowning in you),<br>I'm falling forever (falling forever),  
>I've got to break through,<br>I'm going under. _

_I'm... _

_So go on and scream,  
>Scream at me I'm so far away (so far away),<br>I won't be broken again (again),  
>I've got to breathe - I can't keep going under.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I feel I've been ignoring the darker side of Orin's insanity a bit, so I figured the Temple Ruins would be bad enough to bring out her teary tear-them-apart side again, after so long having cheery fun with Aerie and Chiki. And yes, Chiki has already found her first spell - I imagine it something like a cross between low level Fireball spell and a Magic Missile - the Faer?ian equivalent of a FF _Fire_ (the most basic) spell.

Song choice is "_Going Under_" by Evanescence. It's an old favourite I dug up from memory as an appropriate piece for this chapter. I had to resist using "_Carry On My Wayward Son_" (a song I've picked up due to SPN) yet, as it doesn't really fit in this chapter and I've already pegged it for an upcoming chapter, which I am already writing scenes for. There is however at least one or two chapters in between - meeting Valygar is next, and maybe something during the return to Athkatla.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaim Her:** I know, I don't own them (more's the pity). I doubt a law suit would be worth the bother though.  
>I do own Oraania. I am <em>very<em> fond of her.

**A/N:** Pardon the multiple uploads. I keep running into HTML issues.

* * *

><p>He did not trust them.<p>

When he first spoke to Jaheira, the apparent leader of the group, he was willing to accept some aid to finally rid himself of the threat of Lavok and lay this whole mess with the Planar Sphere behind him. The druid at least seemed sensible, and understood the dangers of blasted mages, however when he agreed to accompany them to Athkatla, he had not seen the whole of the group.

While Aerie seemed for the most part a cleric of a deity he was not immediately familiar with (though the raccoon symbol she wore tickled the back of his mind, so he knew it was a symbol he had seen in passing before), but the number of pouches and other storage she wore seemed too mage-like for him not to be just a bit wary.

The red-headed young man, Kelsey kicked up all of Valygar's instincts, a big part of his mind screaming "MAGE!" whenever he looked at him. Valygar kept a healthy distance between himself and Kelsey.

But the one who concerned him the most was the other elf, Oraania. For all the hallmarks of another magic user she had, there were enough anachronisms about her to get his back up. If there was one thing worse than a mage, it was one trying to hide their true nature behind a façade of something else.

She wore mage robes - the most basic sort that were easily available at the likes of the Adventure Mart - but hers were cut shorter than average, not even reaching her knees, and even then were split at the sides right up to the belts she wore over it. There were virtually no sleeves on it either, which along with the shortness seemed to be tailored for extra movement.

Besides the usual component pouches, there were also swords, the slightly curved, single-edged type from Kara-Tur - two of them in fact, and though he had not been able to look at them closely enough to be sure, they seemed to be a matched pair.

What he did not see amongst her gear, including that carried by her strange pet bird, was a spellbook. He was sure that some of the odd lines in Aerie's backpack was made up by the spellbook he suspected her of, but Oraania... nothing gave that sort of sign.

Then a again, he had yet to see evidence of Kelsey carrying one either.

_"I just wanna be myself, and I want you to love me for who I am. I just wanna be myself, and I want you to know, I am my hair."_

There was also the singing. The girl sang rather too often. It might not have annoyed him so much if she wasn't already so suspect, but with the issues of her questionable status as a mage, it just irritated him to no end.

It really did not help either that she seemed to be addressing _him_ with her current song.

_"I've had enough, this is my prayer  
>That I'll die livin' just as free as my hair<br>I've had enough, this is my prayer  
>That I'll die livin' just as free as my hair<br>I've had enough, I'm not a freak  
>I just keep fightin' to stay cool on the streets<br>I've had enough, enough, enough  
>And this is my prayer, I swear<br>I'm as free as my hair  
>I'm a free as my hair<br>I am my hair  
>I am my hair."<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I know, it's taken ages for me to get this done. Part of that I can safely blame on my new fandom, but part of it on not being able to pick a good song.  
>It was only a day of so ago that I was listening to <em>Hair<em> (Lady Gaga - _Born This Way_ album) again and realised it is a great one for Oraania when faced with someone as distrusting as Valygar. She would _so_ use it on him! I also freely confess that it one of my current favourites.

I plan to dive straight into the Planar Sphere next, which means the next of my major OCs is coming up. I also get to use a couple of songs I've been holding on to in the next couple of chapters.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimery Thingie:** The only thing that is mine is Oraania and Mareph.

**A/N:** More reloads - more niggling mistakes.

* * *

><p>To say that things were tense would, in Yoshimo's opinion, be rather an understatement.<p>

Getting into the Planar Sphere had been easy enough with Valygar's help, but as soon as they were inside the thing had taken off for the gods' only knew where. It had taken a bit of searching and an altercation with a golem to get further into the vessel, and to be faced with this.

The second room they had found had contained a large round table and several people who apparently had been stuck aboard the Sphere. Most of the group there were knights from some land named _Solamnia_, but they had not been the problem. The problem had been the mage, or more accurately, Valygar's immediate reaction to him, drawing his sword and trying to kill him on the spot, under the presumption that he was Lavok.

As it was, they were in a stand-off. At least until a soft voice started singing.

_"It's been a long time since I came around, been a long time but I'm back in town, this time I'm not leaving without you."_

The mage, a tall man with slight elven features, short messy black hair, a neatly trimmed goatee, wearing spectacles and a mostly black robe, locked his eyes on Oraania, who Jaheira was futilely trying to keep behind her.

"Orini?" He asked, his tone surprised.

Oraania managed to escape Jeheira's protective hold to immediately throw herself across the room, launching into a tirade as she did. "Where the hell _were_ you Marephie? You didn't come visit when should have and then Gorion dragged us off to gods' only knows where, but we didn't get there because that big assbutt meanie Sarevok had to come along and kill him and we only just got away and then we were all over the place looking for why the iron was going bad and all and it was all Sarevok's fault again, the big meanie meanie meanerson, 'cause he wanted to start a war because he thought he could become a god because he was one of Bhaaly-butthead's children but then so am I apparently and _YOU STILL WEREN'T THERE AND I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!_"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there, Rini! Slow down!" He grabbed her arms as she tried to hit him in the chest with her small fists, pulling her to sit against the edge of the table. Now explain that again, slowly."

"How about you explain who _you_ are first?" Jaheira's tone was frosty.

The mage narrowed his eyes at Jaheira, obviously not happy about the interruption of his reunion with Oraania. Yoshimo could however understand why Jaheira was acting so abrasive, even he was feeling a bit like this man was intruding and taking _their_ Oraania, but he could also see that Oraania knew him, and quite well too.

"I am Mareph Praadss, a long time friend of Gorion, Oraania and Imoen. Maybe you should tell me who _you_ are, why you have Orinni with you, and why you brought her into a dangerous structure like this Sphere? Especially without Imoen?"

"A friend of Gorion's? Since when?" Jaheira questioned sharply.

"Jae..." Oraania whined softly, but was calmed by Mareph putting a soothing hand on her shoulder.

Mareph rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Since the first time I visited Candlekeep, _obviously_!" He huffed. "I cannot believe Gorion would not have at least mentioned me in at least _one_ of his letters."

Jaheira's frown deepened. "A passing mention in a letter is hardly solid ground to trust someone on."

"Yeah, well, you're just going to have to put up with it." Mareph said, starting to untie one of the pouches at his waist. "Now that I've found Oraania again I am not going to let her wander around without someone to keep an eye on her."

There was a somewhat disgruntled chirp from Chickabi, who was standing behind everyone else, still standing in the hall, with just her head sticking into the room. Oraania separated herself from Mareph and moved over to the bird to reassure her, and murmur a soft word to Aerie at the same time, though Yoshimo missed what exactly what she said.

"She has people watching out for her." It was the first that Anomen had contributed to the situation, though Yoshimo had noted that he had been watching everything with almost as deep a frown as Jaheira was wearing.

"Maybe." Mareph said, looking at young cleric. "But I know the ins and outs of her problems and I'm the one who trained her to control her magic."

There was a soft "Huh." from Kelsey's direction, but the sorcerer said nothing else.

"Rini" Mareph called, drawing the elven girl's attention. She moved back over to him, Aerie following her, a mix of curiosity and worry on her face. Mareph held out the bag he had pulled from his belt. "I believe this is yours."

"My baggie!" Oraania squealed, grabbing the black leather pouch from him, pulling it open and shoving a hand into it a lot further than the size of the bag should allow.

"How did you find that?" Jaheira asked. "We lost it with the rest of our things after leaving Baldur's Gate." Yoshimo knew enough about what had happened to Oraania and her friends to know that Jaheria was avoiding mentioned that the equipment was lost due to their kidnapped by Irencius.

Mareph tilted his head, looking exasperated. "Mage rune." He said. "I helped Oraania make hers. I can track anything she's put it on." Yoshimo glanced at the bag in Oraania's hands and spied a triangular silver badge hanging on the drawstrings that had something engraved on it.

"So you can stalk her wherever she goes?" Jaheria accused.

"If you know _anything_ about Oraania, you already know she needs support from friends." Mareph said, scowling at Jaheira's tone. "She is like family to me, so yes, I keep an eye on her."

"Jae," Oraania spoke up, fiddling with a necklace that she was trying to put on, but had somehow got tangled with the other two she was wearing. "Stop being such a prickle. Mareph is coming with us." Her tone was so straight forward it almost did not sound like her.

Jaheira huffed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not sure we can afford to have yet _another_ person with us. This group is getting far to big to stay unnoticed."

Oraania looked up from her fiddling. "I'm not leaving Mareph. Not again, not _ever_!" Her tone was the sort of deadly serious that only happened when she was in that mindset she had only shown when facing down dire enemies, making Jaheira blanch at it's vehemence.

"Orini has spoken, so shall it be." Mareph intoned in an ironic tone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** So I finally have Mareph. I will state, his joining the group has been on the books right from the start. No story with Oraania in it would go without Mareph making an appearance in it. Exact reasons why however... well I'll leave that for future chapters, suffice to say, he does come from the same original 'verse that Oraania does. I hope I haven't made him too Stu-ish, I did try to write him as not totally ideal, but the fact is he _is_ there to support Orin.

I have a _Sims 3_ sim of Mareph, it is however a barely altered version of Mortimer Goth as an adult. The goatee is something I usually do to Morty as well. I've put a link on my profile to a picture of the sim, and one of Oraania as well.

I had a bit of an issue with trying to put in a mention of everyone, and even then Minsc went un-noted. I think he's standing to one side keeping an eye on Val so he doesn't try attacking unthreatening stranger mages again.  
>Also, if you didn't get the clue, Orin's "baggie" is a Bag of Holding. I think Mareph helped her with that one as well. I know I have wished that BG1 had BoHs, it probably does if I installed TuTu, but I never did.<p>

Song choice is _Yoü and I_ by Lady Gaga, and has been listed for this chapter for a while now. Orin referring to Sarevok as an "Assbutt" is borrowed from my favourite angel in _Supernatural_, and his memorable molotov scene at the end of season 5.


End file.
